So i've grown out of my little gs500 and decided its time to upgrade. Also I've moved to WV and found out that there's a brilliant number of roads that are off the beaten path, I figure the vstrom 650 will be perfect. I'm on a tight budget so I'm looking at two older bikes. An 05 with 45k, original owner, 3 luggage bags 3000. An 04 with 16k, owned by a retired couple, don't know much else about it, 2800. Niether one of the bikes come with crash bars or a skid plate which are going to be a must at some point :/. Does the price seem about right? Any problems with the early bikes that I should look for? Any real difference between say an '04 or a '11? Any other general advice for starting vstrom life?
Thanks,
Mad_Rabbit
I have an 04 with 63000 miles on it, and would not hesitate to go on a 4000 mile trip today. The price is spot on for these days. I picked mine up for 3200 in 2009 witch was a real great deal at the time. I have watched the price stay about the same ever since. I look all the time. look for records on what was worked on or repaired. 04 with 16gs, jump all over it.
I always prefer bike with lower mileage. Even if it's older. In this case almost the same year and price and big difference in mileage. Go for 2004. There is no significant upgrade between 2004 and 2011, but there was ABS breaks introduction on later models as well as more spark plugs. Since it is 10 years old and not a lot of miles on it ask for service record. It is due for valve check. Has it been done? Check the tires, chain and gas tank (if there is no rust inside of it). If everything is ok offer the guy $2200 and eventually buy it for $2500. Good luck.
If it feels good when you ride it and makes no weird noises and looks honest regardless of milage buy it if the price is right. I'd rather buy an honest high km bike as opposed to a lower km bike that is a bit suspect i.e no known service history. Buy one with as many extra's as possible even its a bit dearer as they can get costly later. Good luck with it.
having abs is important to me but....
if both bikes appear in similar condition I would be interested in the lower mileage. I like to see service records, indicating that the owner was organized and cared. At those mileages I would expect valve clearance checks to have been done.
and consider your first upgrade installing headlight relays to avoid problems we see reported in this forum over and over again.
No way I would buy bike with 3 times more miles on it for the same money just because it comes with luggage ( worth perhaps no more then $500 if it's OEM). Let put it this way, you buy the one with low mileage, you ride it to the point that it goes to 45000 miles and you can still get some good money for it. Buy the one with 45000miles and go for another 30000 miles. Then see what you will get for it. Not even talking about maitenance cost. Am I missing something here?
My 04 Wee starts immediately every push of the button. No grinding of the starter, just on and running. So you can save on the headlight relay. Headlight relay due to the switch geart makes sense though. Something I haven't done...yet.
I got mine a few years ago for 2500, blue book value. No service records but a test ride exhibited no odd noises. It had 23000 miles and was pristine.
It's got 80K on it now and I've had the valves checked once and changed oil each 6K miles and the filter 12K.I clean the air filter when I get the tank off for some reason.
Runs fine, lasts a long time.
I think older stroms are bargains. Mine was a 2006 with 65k miles and it runs perfectly. If you plan to ride on gravel don't forget to pick up a fork brace.
Yes the headlight relay seems to be a good idea on any year bike, power going to the factory wire/connectors/switches would be going through the relay instead.
I've considered those same 2 bikes... I ended up with a different one but seriously considered that 04 (from the old couple) for a good while. I spoke to the owner about it. If the luggage matters to you, it has the racks and they are also selling the luggage separately. I think it has suspension work done and a few other things...
Go check it out and use some common sense. You will know if you can trust the PO story or not.
I have also a 2004 (36k) and that sits half the year or more, just because of the weather. But it's in a garage so no problem. The offered 04 may be pristine, if they just did a few short trips every year and else had it in the garage under a cover. Or it may be really tired if it was out in the elements for long periods of time or unused for several years. If it sat for a number of years, be more careful.
See what maintenance was done (or not done!). If you buy it plan on doing a major overhaul (change all fluids - really ALL, new tires probably, chain and sprockets maybe) to make sure it is in good working order, unless you are sure all that was done by the PO.
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I've been doing a lot of reading up on the stroms so now I want one even more. Going to look at the 04 on Mon, its probably coming home with me unless something is terribly wrong with it.
Well here it is, my newly acquired Vstrom650. I was able to negotiate enough that I could afford the 2006 the couple was selling, which was nice because the 04 had just sold. I went a little over budget but with only 6k on the thing I couldn't pass up the deal, plus this one already has crash bars It is such a great improvement from my gs in about every way possible. Can't wait to start putting some serious miles on this thing once spring rolls around.
I had the same dilemma with similar bikes. I ended up going with the older one with low miles simply because the owner seemed much more trustworthy and the bike looked a lot cleaner. It didn't make sense to get a bike I was unsure of just for the luggage. Just my 2 cents.
Right choice in my book. BY the way it was my first Wee too (2006 red) and even right now I'm on my 5th Wee I still like that one the most. Ps. It looks realy nice with red reflective tape along the edge of rims. Oh yeh. Congratulations. One more think. If you decide to go for aftermarket exhaust it is realy easy on this one. Just chop off the existing muffler and slip on the new one. One clamp and you are done.
Well this thread is very well timed. I am going through a bit of a conundrum at the moment regarding bikes. I currently have a 07 650 with 61,000km on it and while not a lot in relation to a wee, I am considering up grading to something a bit newer with less km.
I test rode a BMW F800GS and man what a nice bike, but at twice the price of a similar year model wee that plan was discounted. There is absolutely nothing majorly wrong with my current bike but as I am racking up a fair few km's I don't want to end up with big repair bills.
So what's the general consensus? Sell the current wee go for something up to 2011 so my frarkles can be transferred or just keep riding and don't worry about the km?
On a side note and to clarify, will the farkles from an 07 directly transfer to a pre 12 model?
I'd lean towards keeping your bike. 61,000km isn't very high mileage, and you know your bike's history. It's not uncommon for bikes with less mileage to have problems, for instance stators have been known to poop out with less miles than you have. Yes, your farkles will transfer to '11's or older.
I have a similar plan to you, I'm going to ride mine to 100k miles and then look for a lightly used '11 and transfer my farkles. However, at 53k the bike runs so good I may ride it until 150k.
I purchased a 03 1k with lots of farkles. I paid 2650. I didnt even dicker. I just paid the man and rode home. Ride the damn thing till the wheels fly off. and then... go buy new wheels. these things are tanks.
I just bought a 2005 Wee-Strom and just joined this forum! Actually I put down a deposit for the seller to hold it until January cuz I'd budgeted for a bike in January, but the deal seemed too good to pass up. I didn't even bargain, just paid full asking price because I totally trust the guy (personal bike of the salesman at local dealership and people there know the history of the bike, previous owner etc.). 42,000 miles, $3300
Comes with: Aluminum backed hand guards, fat bars, 2" Rox risers, 2 windshields (stock and a touring one with a lip), 2 seats (Corbin installed + original stock), SW-Motech skid plate, SW-Motech engine guards, side luggage frames, top luggage rack plus givi top case and topcase-mounted passenger backrest. Newish tires (3k miles), fully serviced and looks great. Only thing seems like there's some grease on the forks (not a full-blown leak), so I think I'll use a seal mate or something to clean out the dirt and see if it will be enough.
This is my very first motorcycle and I am super excited. Slowly buying the necessary gear one item at a time so I can pick it up in January and ride in 20 degree weather
Congrats on buying your first bike. Keep in mind that cold tires are a bit stiff so go easy on them in the corners until they warm up. Winter gear needn't be too fancy. You'll want an armored jacket and full-face helmet anyway, so to that add a balaclava, one-piece snowmobile suit, and heated gloves. Heated grips are nice but do little for those extended fingers that are covering the brakes and working the clutch.
Well I weakened today, looked at a 11 model but the seller wouldn't let me test ride it so I walked away. Ended up looking and riding a 12 with a whole 3,00km on it, laid down a deposit and pick up it tomorrow.
Looks like I will be getting my 07 ready for sale now.
This post slightly takes away from the intention of the original post but I can definitely confirm that most farkles from older models can be transferred to newer models.
I successfully transferred the following 07 farkles to a 12 yesterday
Bash plate
Engine bars - didn't realise how misshaped mine were
Centre stand - with mods to the stopper
Hand gaurds - not perfect but usable. Will be replaced with Barkbusters eventually
Radiator gaurd - fair bit of modification, mine was too wide, the grinder fixed that though
All of the stuff I transferred was either OEM or SW Motech
Sorry for going off topic, but I was so happy that I didn't have to lay down another 1500+ to protect my new bike
Thank you. After doing lots of research I settled on the Olympia Motoquest jacket and pants, AGV Telluride touring gloves and Forma Adventure boots. So far have the gloves and boots and they are great (tested by riding my scooter in freezing weather and rain).
I take long (month long) road trips out west every fall (CO, UT, AZ, NM, mostly hiking and astronomy, in a car so far). I've encountered all kinds of weather, from 25F early mornings to 95F in the afternoons, rain hail, frost, snow, dust storms, high winds, you name it. So I needed one set of riding gear I could adapt to all this and the Olympia really stood out.
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